


Conversation Hearts

by onewomanshow



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Ambassador Katara (Avatar), Confessions, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Holidays, Interior Decorating, Katara & Zuko (Avatar) Friendship, Love Confessions, Love Poems, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Zuko (Avatar), Past Aang/Katara (Avatar), Pre-Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Romance, Soft Zuko (Avatar), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, Zuko (Avatar) is an Idiot, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, so so soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29650278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onewomanshow/pseuds/onewomanshow
Summary: Valentine's Day is approaching and Katara is determined to make it special.Or: In which Katara has a few tricks up her sleeve and drags Zuko along for the ride.
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	Conversation Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> I meant to get this out before or on Valentine's Day but better late than never, amirite? 
> 
> Please don't laugh at my poor attempt at poetry LOL

“What are you doing?”

It was in the middle of the night and Zuko was up as he occasionally was when he comes across Katara sitting on the floor of the communal area with arts & craft materials spread around her.

It’s not her presence that surprised him. She was Ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe and as such, the Fire Nation was practically her second home as she spent a significant amount of time there making sure that they weren’t being excluded out of any necessary negotiations. It’s what she was doing that had him stumped. 

She looks up at the sound of his voice before turning her attention back to what she was doing. “Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and decorations haven’t been put up.”

“So, you decided to make them yourself without even asking me if you can decorate in the first place?” He questioned raising an eyebrow.

Katara rolls her eyes. “As if you would tell me no anyway. Besides, the palace is already red. You can’t even say it goes against the color scheme.”

“Wait, what makes you think I wouldn’t say no?”

“I mean, with all due respect, your majesty” She added for emphasis teasingly. “You’re kind of a pushover.”

Zuko scoffed in mock annoyance. “I am not! I just don’t like those stuffy old farts and seeing them enraged because of the things I allow pleases me.”

“Well, now that that’s out of the way, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help me? I’m too short to reach the top and I want to hang this chain of hearts I made over the door.”

Zuko smiles. This was so, _so_ Katara. Ever since she took up residence at the palace, she’d been making little changes here and there to, in her own words, “make it look like someone actually lives here.”

Zuko couldn’t remember the last time they decorated the palace for anything, but Katara took it upon herself to renovate the Ambassador suites to mirror the styles of their respective nations (“It’ll go over well and show that the Fire Nation is trying to be more inclusive and fix their mistakes”), have Water Tribe food prepared in observance of the Winter Solstice (he told her he could justify changing the menu to celebrate a cultural event but decorating the entire palace in blue and white might give the Fire Sages an aneurysm), and celebrate the staff's birthdays. 

She was slowly but surely taking over and as much as he knew he should probably stop her – he found himself going along with it and even encouraging her to do so.

He shakes his head. “Just hand it here already.”

She smiles widely and pops up, walking over and handing him one end. “Thank you.”

“You know, I never took you as the arts and craft type. Sokka is the one always doing those horrible drawings of us.” 

Katara laughs. “Just a little something I picked up from my mom. She was always making things for us with Gran-Gran.” She pauses. “We didn’t have all the fancy gold and jewels to make things pretty, but she made it work.”

Zuko smiles softly. “She sounds like an amazing woman.”

“Yeah, she was. I miss her, but it’s nice to have these things, you know? Things she taught me or passed down that I can hold onto forever. It’s like having her with me even if she’s not physically here. “

“I can relate to that. Sometimes, I find things that belonged to my mom in the archives. Things she wrote like poems and plays. She loved the arts, she always dragged us to the theatre whenever a show was playing. The Fire Lady suite looks exactly how she left it, all of her combs, clothes, jewelry, even makeup, it’s still there.” He looks at her, a soft expression on his face. “You can have them if you’d like. Or borrow it, I know you have a hard time accepting gifts outright.”

Katara sputters. “What? No. I can’t. The quality of that stuff is way too nice for me. I’m not royalty.”

“I mean, you are the daughter of a chief so technically, you are. Besides, it’s just collecting dust. “

“Well, thank you for that. Maybe I will. I could use a new wardrobe.” She teases playfully.

Zuko rolls his eyes. “You’ve done more shopping here than I think I ever have in my entire life.”

She laughs. “In my defense, a lot of the things I’ve purchased have been for the palace and with _your_ money. I mean, seriously, Zuko. You guys have the luxury thing down pact, but it could be a bit more homely. I’m scared I’ll break something.”

“You wouldn’t be the first. Azula and I broke things all the time. I can’t tell you how many urns we’ve knocked over. We would deliberately burn paper to replace the ashes.”

She gasped. “Zuko!”

“What? Looking back, they weren’t the best people when they were alive so there was really no need to hold onto it anyway.” He pauses. “But I honestly don’t think you treat yourself enough. You’re always doing things for others so when I offer to do things for you or give you things, it’s just my way of saying thanks. Thank you for helping me and thank you for being here.”

She looks over her shoulder and smiles that 1000-watt smile at him that makes his heart clench in his chest. “You’re more than welcome.” Then she reaches up on her tiptoes trying to hang the final decoration into place.

He swoops in from behind her and she can feel the heat radiating from his body. She inwardly sighs at the warmth and his distinct scent of smoky cinnamon that she's grown to love. “Let me help.” And he clasps his hand over hers as she guides him to where she wants it. “I never thought I’d see the day where you and Toph are about the same height.” He chuckles and she can feel his chest reverberating with the sound.

“Ha, ha, very funny. Kid had a growth spurt and I managed to stop growing. She’s still shorter than me though.”

“Not by much.”

“Shut up.” She steps back and looks up. “There. That’s perfect.”

Zuko looks over her handiwork, before turning to look at her. “It looks like a romance scroll threw up in here.” He deadpans but he can’t help the smile that’s spreading across his face.

She claps her hands together. “Great! That’s the look I was going for.”

***

The following morning, Zuko is pleasantly surprised to find a gift basket on his desk in his office. He looks over at his attendant and the man smiles as if he knows something he doesn’t. “I believe Ambassador Katara had that delivered this morning while you were doing your katas.”

Zuko blinks. “What?”

“It’s Valentine’s Day, your majesty.”

“I know that, but why?”

“Well, traditionally…women give gifts to men on Valentine’s Day instead of the other way around.” He pauses. “I know it’s none of my business, but did you and Lady Mai not exchange gifts and other pleasantries on this holiday?”

He shakes his head. “You know, we really weren't that kind of couple.”

“Very well then. I’ll leave you to it.” Then he bowed and quickly exited out of the room.

“Huh.” Zuko smiles. “I just told her last night that she needs to do more things for herself and she stills gets me something. She must have had this planned.” Then he walks over and starts opening it, careful not to rip the soft silk it was wrapped in.

His mouth drops when the cloth material falls away to reveal the heart-shaped chocolate treats. But it wasn’t just any kind of chocolate to satisfy his sweet tooth – he could tell from the rich aroma and intricate design carved into each piece that it was expensive and of high quality.

He knew what it was.

Honmei choco.

And he knew what it meant.

But she couldn’t…could she?

Maybe it was just a coincidence, but a huge part of him was hoping that it wasn't. 

He finds a note attached and reads it:

_“Roses are red, violets are blue,_

_We’ve been friends for a while now, but will you be my valentine, too?”_

_\- Katara_

***

She’s sitting in her study when he finds her.

“Oh hey, Zuko. I wasn’t expecting to see you for another hour at our meeting.”

"Yeah, about that..." He walks in and pulls the package from behind him. The corner of her lips twitches up into a soft smile. “I see you found it.”

“It wasn’t hard to miss.”

“Well, do you like it?”

“Oh, I love it. You know I have a sweet tooth.”

Katara laughs lightly. “Don’t I know it? Last time you visited the South Pole and Gran-Gran made you that cake, you almost ate the entire thing in one sitting.”

He rolls his eyes. “It’d been a while since I had a homemade dessert that wasn't made by the chef. Can you blame me?” Then he sighs, remembering why he really came in there in the first place. “Did you know what these are?”

She sighs. “Yes, I did.”

“Do you know what it means?”

She bites her lip. He noticed it was something she did when she was nervous other than playing with her hair. “Yes. I do.”

“So…are you…are you saying…?”

She looks up at him and a blush is evident on her cheeks. “I am.”

He swallows thickly. He’d waited for this moment since he took lightning for her. He knew then, maybe even before that, that he liked her in a way he never really liked anyone else, but at the time, he didn’t know where he stood with Mai and she had Aang.

He also had a country to run, and she had a home to rebuild.

It just wasn’t the right time so he kept a tight hold on those feelings because he knew the minute they came out, that it would change everything between them and their countries. Although he had a feeling that those closest to him figured it out a long time ago. Uncle was always hinting at how he saw Katara as his niece and thought she would make a lovely Fire Lady one day.

But he never imagined that Katara felt the same way in return.

He always dreamed about what he would say to her if this revelation came to fruition, but now the words were stuck in his throat.

Then she frowns and he realizes that he’d been staring at her for the past 2 minutes like a fox-antelope caught in headlights. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same.” She speaks softly and his heart breaks because how could this beautiful, talented, way-too-good for him goddess in human form ever think that he doesn’t feel the same? That he doesn’t go to bed every night imagining what she’d look like in a crown, ring on her finger because he would never replace her mother’s necklace, and splayed across his sheets? Or standing next to him as he addresses their country and people? 

He sets the box down on the table and steps forward, his mouth finally catching up with his brain. Or in this case, his heart. “I do feel the same and I’ve felt this way for a long time. I was just scared, and I know that’s not a good excuse but- “

Katara walks around the desk, placing a finger on his lips and he finds himself leaning into her. “Shh. I know." She always did, in touch with his feelings like they were her own. "That’s why I made the first move. It is tradition, after all, for a woman to ask a man to be her valentine.”

“Not in the Water Tribe though.” He never wanted to disrespect her culture when she'd already lost so much of it. 

She smiles. “Good thing we’re not in the Water Tribe.”

Zuko laughs lightly. “Well, at least let me take you out first then.”

Katara stands up on her tiptoes and places a chaste kiss on his cheek. "It's a date."

**Author's Note:**

> In Japan, women give men gifts and chocolates on Valentine's Day whereas on "White Day" (March 14th), men are expected to reciprocate. Since the Fire Nation is based on Japan, I thought it would be fun to play on that tradition and somehow get Katara to confess her feelings for our awkward turtleduck softboi!
> 
> Honmei choco is 'true feeling chocolate' and is meant to be given to the person the woman has romantic feelings for - I am NOT Japanese so please correct me if the spelling and meaning are wrong.
> 
> I may write a part 2 or 3 to this where we see Zuko following up on White Day, and their (awkward) first date because why would it go perfectly smooth when it's these two fools 
> 
> And I'm totally headcanoning that Katara completely takes over the palace way before she becomes Fire Lady and Zuko lets her because he loves her.


End file.
